Gas burners are commonly used on the cooktops of household gas cooking appliances including e.g., range ovens and cooktop appliances built into cabinetry. For example, gas cooktops traditionally have at least one gas burner positioned at a cooktop surface for use in heating or cooking an object, such as a cooking utensil and its contents. Gas burners generally include an orifice that directs a flow of gaseous fuel into a fuel chamber. Between the orifice and the fuel chamber, the gaseous fuel entrains air, and the gaseous fuel and air mix within the fuel chamber before being ignited and discharged out of the fuel chamber through a plurality of flame ports.
Certain gas burners include two stages which may operate simultaneously or independently of each other to provide a larger range of heat output at finer increments. Controlling the flow of fuel to each of the respective stages typically requires a dual outlet control valve which may be controlled by a single control knob. However, dual outlet control valves are very expensive. In addition, altering the simmer setting of a dual outlet control valve requires rotating two adjustment screws, which may require additional holes in the cooktop appliance for access. Similarly, maintenance and replacement of dual outlet control valves are more complex than replacing a single outlet control valve.
Accordingly, a cooktop appliance including an improved gas burner assembly with a large operating range and simplified maintenance would be desirable. More particularly, a fuel supply system for a gas burner assembly having multiple burner stages without requiring a complicated and costly dual-outlet control valve would be particularly beneficial.